Away, But Wanted To Share This Sweet Moment

Taking her tric out for a spin....for the first time.

Not Since 1883

Here is what we got on Christmas Day. Big deal for Hot'Lanta, considering the last snow accumulation on Christmas Day was in 1883.

All things homemade

With a pretty tight budget this year, I have tried very hard to make my own Christmas gifts, decorations, kids clothes and treats. I have had a lot of fun planning and coming up with ideas. I have shared a few of them with you already. Cookie cutter ornaments, paper trees, snow covered pine cones and a snow capped bird house. I wanted to share a few more before Christmas Day passes us by.

Each year I give both Mr. H and K a special ornament that represents something significant from their year. This year, Mr. H took a spur of the moment road trip. That is pretty significant! He went from GA to NM and back, seeing some cool sights along the way. I wanted to find something to represent his trip, but have had trouble finding an ornament that did not cost $15.00 or more. So, I ended up making his this year. I like how it turned out. He loves maps and he loves to drive, so this is perfect for him.

Trying it on for size.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies packaged and ready to deliver. Delicious!

I had plenty of iron on decorations left from last season. I very quickly made this shirt for K to wear to see Santa and to her Christmas party at school. It cost me nothing.

I painted this cute winter scene at my MOPS group for K to hang in her room all season. She thinks it is the best painting ever. She is my biggest fan.

I created a new tradition this year for our advent calendar. I bought 24 mini stockings in November and numbered them 1-24 with red glitter. Each night, K hides a stocking for her little Elf, Thomas to find. If he can find it, he puts a tiny surprise in it for her. Hershey kisses are most appreciated. After she enjoys her treat, she hangs the stocking on the tree.

I'm A Winner

Yesterday I received word that I won a prize! Ever heard of Tea Collection? They sell really cool kids clothes at an affordable price. Well, I am a fan of theirs on facebook and every Tuesday, they hold a contest called Tote Tuesday. This week the prize was a Tea Tote AND a free 6 month subscription to Little Passports. Little Passports is a really cool program where you sign your child up and pay a low monthly fee to receive packages from a new country every month! Letters, stickers, souvenirs and photos are included. It helps you to teach your child about the wide world around them. Well, lucky me! We get this for free! Just heard today that our first package arrives on Christmas Eve! Woo Hoo! I love being a winner! Mom, I'm a winner! I am on a roll because earlier this month I won a new scarf at a raffle. Jealous?

What I Want for Christmas

I know all of you are dying to know what I want this year for Christmas. I wanted to share my wish list with you. I finally gave it to D yesterday after denying all month that I don't really want anything. I was trying to save money and not ask for anything, but D would not go for it, so I easily came up with a few items that I would enjoy.

What's not to love? House shoes.

I have kept a journal since the 7th grade. I need a new one. I must have spiral bound. It is such a pain to write in otherwise and the words on the left side of book always look all messed up.

2 years ago I got an iphone. I wanted this case. I have put it on my wish list each year and still have not gotten it. I hope I get it this year. At least it is cheaper this go round, it used to be $30.00 (which is why I didn't get it, I am sure).

Last week while K was at "school" I found myself sitting in Books A Million crying my eyes out as I read the first chapter of this book. I was sniffing and rubbing my nose and all that yucky stuff. I want to read it. I want to hear how she has dealt with the tragic loss of her baby girl. I want to get a little bit of that faith.

This book allows transracially adopted people to share their stories. I want to hear them.

I have stated before that I struggle with what to wear on a daily basis. I am stuck between wanting to be comfortable but still look nice. I think this looks really comfortable and really cute too. This cowl neck scarf can be found here.


So, there it is. What about you? Want to share your wish list? Leave a comment!

Cookie Party

I had the pleasure of hosting a cookie decorating party for my friends. It was so much fun! The kids played so well together, all 7 of them. The Moms got some good talk time in and enjoyed chocolate chip scones, whoopie pies and coffee. We all enjoyed decorating the cookies ( and eating them). My little K was so excited to have all her friends there. She is quite the little hostess, except when she pushes kids down and locks babies in dark closets. We are working on that. I ended up using Martha Stewart's sugar cookie recipe. It worked perfectly for cutting out the cookies. Each guest went home with a Chinese take out box filled with cookies and a cookie cutter ornament for their tree. I wish I had taken more pictures of the set up before we got started, but I was super busy. Thankfully, I had arranged for my Mom and my Aunt to arrive early and help me finish last minute things, they were a big help.



Guest J, very happily decorating cookies.

The calm after the party.

Craft Wednesday

Today's craft. Build and decorate a gingerbread house with my 2 year old. I had big intentions to have a fun time doing something Christmasy with my daughter. I put on Christmas music, put on our cute little aprons and got out the mixer to make the icing. Well, it started off great, we mixed the ingredients for icing, which she loves. Once the icing was made, it was time to assemble the house. So, I let her lick the mixing sticks, or whatever you call those things while I assembled the house. Sweetly, she asked if she could lick my mixing stick when she was all finished with hers. Because I was still assembling the house, I sweetly replied, "sure!" So, only 30 minutes in and she had already eaten a lot of icing. Next, came time to decorate the house. I put each candy in its own dish and expected her to not eat it. Yeah right. She had no interest in decorating, only eating. Even "accidently" bumping her finger into a glob of icing and saying, "oops! it's okay, I'll just lick it off!" (she did that about 20 times) As time passed, I grew more and more frustrated with her eating so much and sneaking bites, she was disobeying me over and over and I was so annoyed. By the time the house was complete, she had eaten a pound of candy and icing. I was covered in sticky, thick icing and could only think about cleaning up my messy table and counters. Looking back on it, I am proud that I did not loose my temper and end up putting her in time out or worse. I mean, my expectations were clearly too high. If you put a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies in front of me and expect me not to eat them only just stare at them, I would probably sneak a few bites myself. I have to remember she is only 2. Candy is still a novelty in her world. Nevertheless, we have a somewhat pretty gingerbread house to enjoy the this Christmas season. My advice is not to do this project with your 2 year old, unless you don't care if they eat everything in sight!

Now that is cozy.

Craft Wednesday On Thursday

Here is a simple, craft idea that can also double as ornaments or party favors. I made them to give as party favors to all the little kids who are coming to the cookie party next week. They are so simple, you probably don't even need instructions! Here is just a helpful hint, tie the thread onto the cookie cutter before you hot glue the paper on the back. I wish money grew on trees, I have so many cute ideas for the party, but I just cannot do them all because it would cost way to much money for a simple cookie decorating party.